During the mid-80s, the future of oil-demand growth was the most frequent topic of debate at energy conferences. Those who forecasted increasing demand were hard-pressed to identify where such growth would take place; both Europe and the United States were seen as stagnant or delining markets. Developing-country demand was often invoked as the variable that would balance the equation, but careful observation of Third World oil consumption showed that the total volume of consumption was growing at only moderate rates from a relatively modest base. By the late 1980s, many analysts were inclined to dismiss the idea of demand surges in the developing world.